“Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans,” by Don Brown, author and illustrator.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, 2015, 95 pages, Grades 7-9.
Graphic novels resemble comic books. Much of the story in graphic novels is carried by the elaborate drawings and illustrations. Though there are fewer words in graphic novels than in traditional books, the text usually contains powerful messages.
In this highly acclaimed graphic novel, Don Brown tells the tragic story of the city of New Orleans being swamped and overcome by the flood waters caused by the massive Hurricane Katrina. Brown does not pull any punches in the illustrations used in this graphic novel. We see people heroically saving terrified victims and other people cowardly fleeing their responsibilities in the doomed city.
Readers will experience the immensity of the danger and suffering during the hurricane. Government agencies have never experienced anything on the scope of Hurricane Katrina and are sometimes unable to develop strategies to cope with the catastrophe. The name of this powerful story is “Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans.”
It all begins so simply: a gentle wind begins blowing off the African coast toward the United States. But the breeze starts strengthening and reaches hurricane force as it crosses the Atlantic Ocean. It is named Hurricane Katrina.
By the time it reaches Florida, Katrina tears across the state, leaving a wake of rain and destruction. Hurricane Katrina then heads into the Gulf of Mexico. Over these warm waters, the storm grows into an immense Category 5 hurricane. This is the worst, most dangerous level for a hurricane. All the states along the Gulf Coast brace for possible landfall.
On August 26, 2005, the National Weather Service announces the storm will likely strike New Orleans. With this news, people begin evacuating the city. Within several days, 80% of the 1.2 million people living in the New Orleans area flee north. But that still leaves several hundred thousand in the area.
Lessening slightly, and veering slightly eastward, Katrina slams into the coast slightly east of the city. But the power and violence of the storm quickly overwhelm the levee system protecting New Orleans. With this, catastrophe ensues. Electricity is cut off for most of New Orleans. The poorer parts of the city become flooded quickly. The residents of these sections are frequently old, sick or unable to leave. They are the most vulnerable people in the developing chaos.
As the water rises, people begin drowning while frantically trying to find safety. Thousands walk to the football stadium, the Superdome. When they get there the hurricane blows off part of the roof. Now without water, food or assistance, they helplessly stand in the dark as the rain pours in from the hole in the roof. The hurricane brings out both the best and worst in people.
In the face of the danger, some public officers abandon the city to its fate. Other officials act with bravery. Louisiana officers from the Game and Wildlife Commission drive their small boats into the doomed city and rescue more than 10,000 trapped people. While all this death and destruction continues, the federal and state government act stunned. Never before has an entire American city faced total devastation. What should they do?
Brown’s comic-book-like cartoons effectively show the danger, fear, death and attempts to rescue the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Readers will sense many of the emotions the trapped people experienced and the dangers faced by those rescuing the victims.
The flood waters have turned poisonous and people begin shooting guns to get the rescuers’ attention. But as the bullets zing close to the boats, the brave officers in the rescue crafts wonder if they are going to be shot. Brown’s writing and illustrations dramatically detail the tragedy. This book is appropriate for students seventh grade and older. It is not appropriate for younger students, as the pictures can be tragic and unsettling.
Since New Orleans was just spared another powerful hurricane two weeks ago, we would do well to learn from Brown’s book. I highly recommend it.
